Category: Residential
Type: Museum
Location: Yalıköy, Beykoz
Date: 1845-1854
Designer: Nigoğos Balyan, Sarkis Balyan
Period: Ottoman Empire
Photo: T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Milli Saraylar Başkanlığı (millisaraylar.gov.tr)
Completed in 1854 at Hünkar İskelesi, the Beykoz Mecidiye Pavilion holds the distinction of being the first masonry building in the modern style constructed along the Bosphorus. Originally commissioned by the Governor of Egypt, Kavalalı Mehmed Ali Pasha, for Sultan Abdülmecid, the structure is a refined interpretation of the Ottoman serdab kiosk tradition featuring a symmetrical neo-classical facade built with Italian stone and domestic white marble. While its interior was once opulently decorated with Hereke fabrics, Baccarat crystal, and valuable porphyry, the pavilion’s history is marked by its use as a grand venue for hosting high-profile international dignitaries, such as Empress Eugénie and Prince Jerome Napoléon, as well as serving as a summer retreat for Sultan Abdülaziz. Over the 20th century, the building transitioned through several functional roles, including an orphanage and a specialized hospital, before undergoing a meticulous restoration that allowed it to reopen as a museum under the National Palaces in 2017.
Beylerbeyi Palace was used as a summer residence and as the State Guest House. Many guests stayed here like Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria-Hungary (1869); Eugénie, Empress of France (1869); Nikola, King of Montenegro (1874) and German Emperor Wilhelm II. Sultan Abdülhamid II, after he was dethroned, spent his last six years in Beylerbeyi Palace and died here in 1918.
